People Power Party lawmaker Yoo Eui-dong. [Yonhap]
People Power Party lawmaker Yoo Eui-dong. [Yonhap]

People Power Party lawmaker Yoo Eui-dong said Tuesday that the Democratic Party of Korea is unlikely to feel any strong need for change under its newly formed leadership following the election of Kim Min-seok as party leader.

Speaking on KBS Radio's "Jeongyeok Sisa," Yoo said he is cautious about an optimistic outlook given the Democratic Party's current attitude and personnel composition. "Politics is fundamentally driven by the ruling party and the majority party," he said, "but looking at the Democratic Party's attitude and personnel, I am hesitant to be optimistic."

He added that the Democratic Party's perception of the People Power Party has not changed, and that the PPP lacks the numbers needed to check the Democratic Party's dominance. "When the opposition is not recognized as such, you at least need the numbers — and we are far short of what it would take to keep the Democratic Party's advance in check," he said.

On the outcome of the Democratic Party convention, in which three of the five newly elected supreme council members are aligned with Rep. Jung Chung-rae while two are aligned with President Lee Jae Myung, Yoo said the result would likely be seen within the party as a defeat in substance despite a nominal victory. "The non-mainstream faction has nearly matched the mainstream, and while they won the election, the prevailing view inside the party will probably be that they lost on the substance," he said, adding that there would be "some changes" in how the leadership makes decisions.

He predicted that the Democratic Party's overall attitude toward the People Power Party would remain unchanged, but said the pro-Jung faction's capture of a majority of supreme council seats would give it meaningful influence over the party's decision-making.

On PPP leader Jang Dong-hyeok's attendance at the Aug. 15 rally at Olympic Park, Yoo said it was "a choice available to an opposition leader," but stressed that the party must strongly fight to check the ruling party, take in the voices of the people and narrow the gap between the party and the public.

Turning to President Lee Jae Myung's repeated remarks about constitutional reform, Yoo said President Lee is "a president with a very particular problem — his own trial and legal risk — hanging over him," and that the political intent behind raising constitutional reform at this moment must be examined carefully. "We need to look at this cautiously and respond accordingly," he said.

He went on to say that "the president is someone in a very particular situation, and he must speak carefully on this matter," warning that failure to do so "could drag the country into enormous political chaos."


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